


One Surprise Coffee, Coming Right Up

by JCBookworm



Series: Welcome to the Robin's Café [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Batfamily (DCU), F/F, I told you I hadn't forgotten Cass, and here she is, just stephcass fluff the whole way through, there is blink and you miss it batcat right at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 13:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20760854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCBookworm/pseuds/JCBookworm
Summary: Steph's co-worker and his family are just welcoming back their estranged sister.In completely unrelated news, Steph has fallen in love with a new customer.





	One Surprise Coffee, Coming Right Up

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so here's a sequel to Hello and Welcome to the Robin's Cafe. It's a little bit rushed but I really wanted to get it out so there you have it.
> 
> Also fun fact! I actually began writing his before Hello and Welcome, but then I realised I wanted to show Steph meeting the batfamily and I wasn't sure if ao3 let you rearrange collection stories. Actually I'm still not very sure.
> 
> Enjoy!

The café was always nice early in the mornings. Sure, it was sometimes annoying to have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning – _Tim_, what were you _thinking_? – but it was only twice a week and early enough that it wasn’t very busy. Mostly the only people who did come in only wanted a simple coffee. Steph yawned. It was just so _early_. She had worked at this café for a couple of years now – what was originally just a part-time job quickly developed into both a way to both pay her tuition bills and meet new people – and she would never get used to the mornings.

She had no idea how Tim, one of the other workers (and possibly owner?), did it so often. She frequently speculated that his blood itself was about 90% coffee.

The bell rang happily and Steph looked up to see Dick Grayson wander in. He noticed her, waved, and trotted over. In his wake came a scowling young boy with his arms crossed. Steph groaned.

“Hey, Steph,” Dick grinned. Steph tried to smile (although it probably came out as a tired grimace) and raised a hand in greeting.

“Hey, Dick,” she replied. Then, “Hey, Demon,” to Damian. He sneered at her until Dick prodded him in the shoulder.

“Brown,” he acknowledged finally, inclining his head haughtily. Steph held back a snicker and turned to make their regulars.

“I don’t suppose you could also recommend a restaurant or place that a teenage girl would like to visit, could you?”

Steph levelled an odd look at Dick. He stared back before realising the confusion. “Our sister’s coming back today,” he clarified. Steph nodded in understanding before frowning.

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Steph placed the now full cups on the counter and accepted the money that Dick had placed down. He shrugged.

“She doesn’t visit very often. Goes to school in Hong Kong.” Dick ruffled his brother’s hair. “She’s transferring back to America so we’re going out for dinner tonight to celebrate. Dami’s missed her.”

Steph had a hard time imagining Damian being fond of anyone in his family (with the possible exceptions of Bruce, Dick, and of course Alfred) but she nodded anyway and grinned at Damian’s embarrassment.

-o-o-o-

Tim came in later that day, breathing heavily as he opened the door. Harper glanced over.

“What’s up with you?” She asked over the counter. Steph looked up from the steaming cup of hot chocolate.

“Is this to do with your sister coming over?” She asked. There wasn’t much of a connection that she could spot, but Tim was rarely late and the arrival of a relative was fairly unusual, so-

“Yeah,” Tim admitted. “How did you know that?”

Steph shrugged and returned to her hot chocolate. “Dick came in earlier. He told me. Which was helpful, considering that _you_ didn’t…”

Tim rolled his eyes and tied the apron, stepping behind the counter. Rather unfortunately, because just at that moment Jason walked in. The bell rang out merrily in a way that completely contrasted with the tense atmosphere settling in the room.

It was Tim who finally broke the cloud of silence. “Jason,” he said in a voice that only sounded slightly nervous.

“Timbo,” Jason replied in his ‘I’m-trying-to seem-careless-but-this-is-actually-really-weird-and-uncomfortable-for-me’ voice. Harper and Steph exchanged looks. Jason and Tim were almost always on uneasy terms, so this was really nothing unusual. To be honest, the only times they had seemed super comfortable with each other were when they had teamed up to make fun of another brother. Usually Dick. According to Tim, this was because he had only been adopted a few months after Jason had disappeared (‘run away’, Jason would say before changing the subject). Tim had always looked up to the older boy, but Jason… had not been pleased when he returned. Being around them often felt like skating on very thin, very fragile ice.

The silence resumed for a couple more moments before Harper stepped in. “What did you want, Jason?” She asked awkwardly. Jason turned to her.

“A cake,” he answered, gesturing to the glass case. “Which cakes would a teenage girl like?”

Steph managed not to tell Jason that Dick had asked almost the exact same words earlier. Instead, she pointed Harper towards one of the larger takeaway boxes.

“Take a selection,” she said. “Our welcome home contribution.”

Jason grinned – and really, it was amazing how much younger it made him look – and nodded in thanks. Then he turned back to Tim and said, “Once your shift is over, Dickie-bird wants you to come home and help us put up streamers. We’re throwing Cass a mini party before we go out.” Tim nodded and smiled.

“See you then,” he muttered. Jason turned on his heel and walked out.

-o-o-o-

It was two days later that The Girl wandered into Steph’s life. It was one of the quieter shifts at the café, so Steph was actually just doodling on her homework sheet when the bell rang out merrily. In walked a girl, about Steph’s age and height. She looked around, her dark eyes seeming to spot everything, then she walked over and smiled slightly at Steph.

“Hello,” she said when Steph ended up just staring at her like an idiot. She started into life and managed a smile back.

“Hi,” she greeted, hoping that her voice sounded normal enough. She was pretty sure that it didn’t. “What can I get for you?”

The Girl examined the menu for a second, then turned back. “Surprise me,” she answered.

-o-o-o-

“-and she had these really dark eyes, they were so warm but cool at the same time, and her voice was like, quiet, but really, really pretty –”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” interrupted Harper, who was listening to Steph complain pitifully. “You really need to just talk to her.”

Steph rolled her eyes. “Nice one, Harper. ‘Just talk to her’. I’d probably end up blurting something really stupid out, and then she’d get really freaked out and never come here again.”

Harper sighed. “She might end up liking you.” At Steph’s huff of derision, she added, “In fact, she probably does like you. That’s the only way she would have drunk that monstrosity of a drink you gave her.”

Steph glared at her friend. “That drink was _not_ a monstrosity!” Admittedly, the triple-chocolate mocha with syrup, frothed milk, cream and sprinkles may have been a bit overboard, but she’d been so excited about the ‘surprise me’ that she hadn’t really been thinking.

That was when the bell sounded, and The Girl (now her official alias) strode in. Harper snickered at the way Steph brightened, but she ignored her.

“What can I get you today?” She asked. The Girl thought, and then said, “Another surprise?” with a slight curve of her lips.

It wasn’t until The Girl had left that Harper hit her in the arm and hissed, “You didn’t ask for her name!”

Steph swore suddenly and tried to ignore Harper’s cackling.

-o-o-o-

It wasn’t until her third visit that Steph both learnt The Girl’s name and was able to legitimately consider her a regular. She walked up to counter, asked for another surprise (Steph was prepared this time – she had a list of the best hybrid drinks hanging in the back room) and accepted the drink. This time, though, as she payed, she gave a quick “Thank you, Stephanie.” Steph blinked until she remembered that she was wearing a nametag. “I’m Cass, by the way,” The Girl added over her shoulder as she walked off. Steph breathed a sigh of relief, because she would have hated herself if she’d forgotten to get the name _again_.

-o-o-o-

It quickly became Steph’s mission in life to make Cass smile. This really stemmed from the day that Steph had learnt Cass’ name and had managed to verbally allow her to call her ‘Steph’ instead of ‘Stephanie’. The grin she had received had been well worth the absolute torture of speaking to her, seeming to light up the room. Sure, she half-smiled a lot, politely, but that was really just a turn-up of her lips. This was a proper smile, an eyes-shining-teeth-showing-smile. It was the highlight of Steph’s week.

-o-o-o-

“So you really like this girl then?” Duke asked, leaning against the counter. Steph smiled and nodded.

“I guess,” she admitted. “She makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.” Then she narrowed her eyes at Duke trying to cover his laughing. “Stop it,” she snapped. Duke held up his hands placatingly.

“Okay, okay,” he grinned, turning to make Steph a latte. “I won’t laugh.”

Duke didn’t technically work at the café, but as Tim’s (newest) brother he occasionally helped out when Tim was caught up with something else.

Steph sipped her latte thoughtfully. Duke gazed over the inhabitants of the shop.

“Seriously though,” he said finally. “You might as well tell him how you feel. What could go wrong?”

Steph personally thought that there was quite a lot which could go wrong, but she could see where Duke was coming from. Best case scenario, they could remain friends and remember it as an amusing event from their past. Worst case scenario, Cass was horrified and they never saw each other again.

Okay, that was perhaps an exaggeration. And Steph had always considered herself an optimist.

-o-o-o-

The bell rang to signal Cass’ arrival at the café. Steph looked up and smiled at her.

“Hey,” she called, already sorting out the cup and trying to calm herself down. Cass bit her lip and smiled back, but her eyes seemed slightly nervous.

“Hello,” she replied. Steph turned to look at Harper.

“She’s clearly preoccupied with something,” she hissed urgently. “I’ll just ask her another ti—” Harper cut her off by rolling her eyes and giving her a push back towards the counter.

Cass gave a wary smile towards Steph, though she still seemed nervous. Steph hesitated but opened her mouth anyway.

“Um… Cass,” she began, staring very intently at the counter. There was a coffee stain there. Huh.

“Did you want to get a drink sometime?” Cass interrupted, then blushed. “Sorry… I just…”

She turned to go and Steph just managed to snap out of her stunned silence.

“I’d like to,” she called after Cass. The shorter girl twisted her head round, eyebrows raised. Steph wriggled her way around the counter and began to remove her apron. “I can take my break now,” she said, trying to focus on her shoes. “If you wanted a drink.” She raised her head to see Cass beaming.

“I would like that.”

-o-o-o-

It wasn’t for another week that Steph realised what the deal with Cass was. _Somehow. _They saw each other _every day_, except every time it was in the shop, it was when it was only her and Harper working. So she didn’t realise even slightly that Cass might know someone else there.

It was Bruce who ruined it.

Of course.

-o-o-o-

He came in on the Tuesday looking for Tim.

“He’s not here,” Steph replied when asked, pretending that he wasn’t struggling to fix the computer in the back (Harper had accidentally thrown coffee on it and they had both pretended that nothing was wrong until Tim had gone to log on, a week later).

Bruce huffed slightly and turned to look around awkwardly.

“Where is he, then?” He asked. The shop gave no answer so he turned back to Steph. “Stephanie?”

Steph blanked him in favour of glancing towards the door at the sound of the bell. Cass had strolled in wearing a leather jacket and yellow scarf, her black hair slightly windswept, looking gorgeous. Steph sighed to herself.

Bruce, looking baffled at Steph’s silence, followed her gaze. He raised an eyebrow at the girl.

“Oh. Hello, Cass.”

Steph’s jaw fell as Bruce smiled at her girlfriend, then opened his mouth again.

“Have you seen Tim?”

-o-o-o-

“So you’re his daughter?”

Cass nodded over her hot chocolate. “Tim’s sister. Dick, Damian, Duke and Jason’s as well.”

Nodding slowly, Steph took a sip of her coffee. Ah. Dick – and Jason and Tim – they had actually mentioned that their sister was returning home. Jason had probably said her name as well. Maybe she ought to start listening to them. Oops.

Cass interrupted her thoughts. “Are you… okay?”

Steph breathed out, nodding slowly. “Yup. Yup, yup, yup. Just a bit… confused. Y’know?”

“I’m sorry.”

Steph’s gaze snapped up.

“Sorry?” She echoed. “You’re sorry? What for?”

Blinking, Cass gave a half-shrug. “You didn’t know. It made you… uncomfortable.”

“What? No!” Steph reached across the table for Cass’ hand. “I wasn’t uncomfortable. Shocked, yes. But not uncomfortable.”

Cass beamed at her, and everything was good in the world.

“Good!” She cheered. “Because they want to have you over for dinner.”

Never mind.

Everything was most certainly _not_ good in the world.

-o-o-o-

Steph had been over to the Wayne household a few times, and stayed for dinner several of those. But she had never been over in the role of a girlfriend before.

It was terrifying.

The food itself was, of course, delicious. Alfred had greeted her at first with a simple smile and a “Welcome, Miss Stephanie.” Which was nice, and made her feel much more relaxed. And off guard.

It was certainly different from dinner, during which every member of the family had sat, staring at Steph with hard eyes. Dick, near the head of the table, had smiled once – once! – since they’d sat down, and it was super ominous. Steph cleared her throat as Alfred began to clear the table, placing a hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

“So, Stephanie,” Bruce began, folding his hands in front of him. “You are… dating my daughter, now?”

Nodding her head, Steph turned away from Jason (who was still holding his knife) to face him. “Uh—yeah. Yes!” She cleared her throat again. This silence was deafening.

Bruce nodded slowly. Cass glanced over to Steph, obviously trying not to laugh.

Traitor.

“What are your intentions with her?” Bruce questioned. Steph gulped.

“My, ah—intentions?” She asked. Bruce tilted his head. “Um—”

“Bruce,” Cass finally began to speak. Bruce patted her hand absently.

“Just a moment, sweetheart.” He turned back to Steph. “Go on, Stephanie.”

“Well, my intentions…” she looked over at her girlfriend. “I don’t…have…any.”

Dick raised an eyebrow at her. Straightening back up, Steph started again.

“I just like her. I don’t see why that’s a crime. I don’t care if you disagree.” Well, she was fairly sure that they wouldn’t. She’d been round enough that they probably liked her.

And she’d managed to gather enough blackmail material that it really didn’t matter what they thought.

Bruce narrowed his eyes at her. “If you hurt her—”

“I think Cass can handle herself.” Steph interrupted. Cass beamed at her.

Nodding, Bruce allowed himself to smile. “She can indeed. Congratulations.”

It was as though all the tension had lifted. Jason, Tim and Duke immediately burst into conversation, though it went almost unheard under Dick’s cooing. Damian scoffed, but he didn’t look too angry.

Steph relaxed and grabbed Cass’ hand under the table. This wasn’t so bad after all.

-o-o-o-

“So, Cass—” Steph began, then stopped. Cass smiled at her, biting her lip to prevent laughing.

“Do you…” she broke off again, sighing. “Do they have to be here?”

The two girls were sat in a restaurant, having a late lunch together. It might have been nice and romantic, had Dick and Jason not been sat at the table behind them with Damian sat in between them, very loudly trying to be inconspicuous.

“Thank you!” Dick called loudly at the waitress who had brought their menus. “Honey, what do you fancy?”

“Oh, let me have a look, honeybear!” Jason gushed, stroking his fake moustache. He handed Damian another menu. “Here you go, ya’ little tyke!”

“I do _not_ need a _children’s_ menu—”

“Oh, delicious! Look at the options here!”

Steph tried to bury her face into her hands. The table was drawing looks by this point.

On the other side, Tim, Duke, Harper and Cullen were trying to convince a very stressed out waiter that it was actually all of their birthdays today. Cass nudged Steph and then nodded to behind her.

Bruce—really?!—was sat, hidden behind a plant, accompanied by a pretty woman with short hair, laughing at him. He looked as though he was trying to avoid attention, but given that he was Bruce Wayne, it wasn’t really working.

Steph sighed. This was truly a disaster.

Next to her, Cass began giggling. Steph glanced over to see her girlfriend shaking with laughter.

Okay, so it could be worse.


End file.
